I (a male) dated two older, sophisticated women consecutively with closer to an 8 year gap because they were brilliant thinkers (one a creative, the other a lawyer), had more life experience I felt I could glean, and they knew what they wanted physically. The combined relationships started when I was 22 and advanced through the typical ups and downs until they concluded last Jan. and I was aged 35. Shortly after the break up with the second older woman I found myself surrounded by younger women, all around 22-24. After I picked up the pieces from the second LTR I went dancing as single person for the first time in ages with some close friends. I promptly got drunk, was approached by an adorably lithe 23yo blonde, & told her to fuck off as she was interrupting my awkward white-person dancing. Apparently that hit her square on the button and she took me to her home & and had her way with me, all within about 90 min. It was the most intense, mind blowing fuck I had ever had. She had her first 6 orgasms that night. It was my first encounter with someone new in 5 years, and only 3rd person in 14 years, though I had had sex regularly within the LTRs. We carried on for a week or two, and she became very attached, which was exactly not what I was thinking about but could definitely see happening on my side as well, so I resisted and created some distance. Meanwhile, I have a very niche hobby that I share with only a very few people, and I became intensely attracted to a female that partook in that hobby as well and that was only 2-3 years my junior. At the time it seemed star-crossed and appropriate. All of our mutual friends within the hobby signed on immediately. So I cut the 23yo blonde loose (gently), and took up with the fellow hobbyist exclusively. Fast forward 7 months and after a trivial row, the fellow hobbyist girl ceased talking to me. I was devastated. I lost most of my composure for long lengths of time. More so than after the 2 LTRs. I lost my passion for my hobby/everything. Eventually I went on a few Tinder dates and hated all of them. So I called the blonde on whim, just to talk and catch up. strictly platonic intentions. 90 min later we were joined in coitus. That was around Nov. and since then I've slowly allowed myself to fall for her again. She's revealed so much about herself that I ignored last year, and I have begun to unravel some of my stories and background. It's had it's awkward moments: 'are you sure I'm not just your backup,' type questions which are totally valid and worth examination. She doesn't partake in my hobby, but isn't totally adverse trying it out on some level. The sex continues to be amazing. I've introduced her to Ghostbusters, Aliens, Top Gun, etc. I love it. A specific challenge is sharing wisdom that I've learned from my previous LTRs without the prefix 'My ex-gf used to', but I find it very doable. She has so much less emotional scarring, it's uniquely and completely refreshing. She's as close to a perfect ten (for me) as I think I'll see for a while, so I'm gonna stick with it I think. TL;DR, I used to date older women for their life experience. then I dated someone my age and it was a disaster. Now I date a younger woman and I love sharing MY experiences.